newfoundmass

Seriously, give me more of this! Imagine if they figured out how to make it even smaller and more compact? That's the thing, they don't even give us the bare minimum. Remember how everyone had a road map that covered the next 3 years when they entered the full frame Mirrorless market? There's literally no reason not to do this, unless you've got little to show for it. The times have changed, the camera market is becoming more of a niche. And the remaining customer base expects more transparency. And the thing is, it's easier than ever to do it!

And to emphasize something... That's my go to multi camera kit. That's a GH5, G85 and a GX85. There's two 12-35mm f2.8 lenses (mark I and II), a 35-100mm f2.8, a 14mm f2.5, 25mm f1.7, a 20mm f1.7 and the XLR audio adapter. Not shown are the 42.5mm f1/7, a Olympus 7-14 f2.8, and the Pana Leica 15mm f1.7. And I had every intention of getting a GH5s before covid-19 hit. It still blows my mind that I can fit all that into one case, and if I really wanted to I could fit the lenses not pictured into a slightly larger case and bring it all with me to every shoot. There are people more invested in native M43 gear than I am, but I'm pretty invested. I'm not complaining just to complain. I want M43 to succeed! Do you know how wonderful it is to be able to throw the 35-100mm on the GX85 and get stable footage in 4K with such a small footprint? Concerts, festivals, sporting events, and anywhere else that has restrictions on what kind of cameras you can bring don't bat an eye at a tiny camera with a lense that's about the size of a can of soda! You simply cannot do that with an APS-C or full frame camera with a 70-200mm lens. It's a system worth keeping! Panasonic though seems to be moving on.

You know what would help out a ton? If Panasonic addressed the concerns directly and made concrete efforts to let their M43 user base know that they're committed to the system for the long haul. What we've seen over the last 3 years have been lackluster updates, like the LX100ii and the G95, or cameras no one asked for like the G100 (that I've heard nothing about since the initial release.) Now we're getting a GH5ii, again something none of us asked for, with modest improvements using the same 4 year old sensor. Meanwhile we've gotten very little concrete information on when a GH6 is coming, other than references to it in the rare interviews they'll do. The only thing of note that they've done in years with the M43 system is release that incredible 10-25mm f1.7 lens but it is nearly $2,000 and not a ton of people are going to drop that kind of money on a M43 lens, especially right now. That cinema camera? Those incredible specs are virtually identical to the GH5s, a camera released 2 years ago, with a few added bonuses. There's no one to blame but Panasonic for the reaction people have on this forum and the Facebook groups I'm in. They've done terrible PR, which seems to be typical for these major camera companies. I can go in the Z-Cam group and ask questions directly of their president but getting some kind of road map for the future of M43 from Panasonic is literally impossible. We can't even get concrete information on a GH6, which they should be getting people excited for! What we do have though are more people saying they don't think a GH6 is coming, while Panasonic twiddles their thumbs!

I just purchased an ATEM Mini Pro and am curious about which HDMI cables will work best. I've only used switchers that had SDI inputs, not HDMI. I know that longer cables can have problems: are there any reliable 50+ ft HDMI cables? What's the go to solution for that kind of distance?

Thanks again man! @Andrew Reidthanks to this site Ephraim sold me a ATEM Mini Pro for a great price. It's a testament to the community you've built that we're able to help one another like that. I think you'll do fine selling stuff through here!

He wasn't lying 🤓

I agree, which is what is frustrating. But I can't trust a company that does this to their customers.

It'd be very difficult for me to go with Panasonic again. I'm very skeptical about the L-mount alliance's long term viability, and frankly I'm not too eager to go with Panasonic again just out of principle, even though their cameras are my ideal tool. I was really hoping to at least wait it out until Fuji finally nailed a video focused camera that didn't overheat and had no record limits. So if I do something this year it seems like Sony is the likely destination, and that bums me out because I don't get the same joy out of using Sony cameras as I do pretty much every other company. Panasonic never should've gone full frame. It was too late into the game, people had already chosen their horse. And now they're on the verge of abandoning one of the most loyal customer bases in the camera business.

As it seems more and more likely this is real, I'm just filled with disappointment. I've got a hard decision to make soon: do I run my M43 kit until I have to switch systems or do I sell my kit now while it still has decent monetary value that I can put towards a new system? And what system do I go with? Ugh.

I do but shouldn't! 😭😭😭

It's so self sabotaging, because by doing this to your customers pretty much ensures that they're never going to buy your products again. I love my GH5. I love the XLR adapter. It is such a compact set up. I use it for everything from filming pro wrestling to interviews. I don't have to build up a rig unless I want to... just throw a lens on, connect the XLR adapter and you can get excellent results. No fuss. I WANT to stay. Give me a reason to! Can't lead the pack with specs now that full frame has caught up? Fine! Innovate in other ways! What's stopping you from putting a GH5 into a GX85 body? I'd buy two, along with a GH6! Nothing would delight me more than even smaller, lighter cameras! I'd carry one with me pretty much at all times! And I don't believe this notion that you can't sell a kick ass GH6 for less than a S5 because the truth is there's a segment of the full frame market that won't consider a M43 camera no matter what the specs are. Go for broke, fuck it! Or just give people what they want: I mean just adding phase detect AF alone to decent bumps in specs would sell a bunch of new M43 cameras!

If they release a mark II before a GH6 they might as well just shoot themselves in the head. I'll divest from M43 the day it happens. It's hard enough sticking with M43 right now, knowing it's uncertain future, but doing that would be a sure sign that the Panasonic we knew is dead. It'd be very unlikely that I'd go with an L-mount camera, the long term viability of that alliance makes me uncomfortable. It'd also be impossible for me not to view Panasonic with distrust if they screwed over their M43 users like that. Be honest and make your intentions clear, we deserve it Panasonic.

PayPal is owned by eBay. It made it more frustrating to sell though, as had to get my routing info and stuff in order to get paid. Instead I just haven't done it. Don't know if I will. Might just stick to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

Hey Andrew, would you accept donations to help offset your losses?

Obviously a part of it had to do with free gear for reviews, but I'd first started hearing good things about SmallRig from long time posters in Facebook groups I am in. From there other known members posted YouTube reviews after seeing those posts. It wasn't until about a year later that the usual suspects started reviewing it on YouTube, starting with the familiar "I'd like to thank SmallRig for sending this to review" line. I agree with a lot of what you wrote, but Gerald isn't allowed to keep the cameras they send him. After he sends them back he has to buy them like everyone else. Obviously there is incentive to cooperate up an extent, so you're allowed to take part in the lucrative lifting of the press embargo day where YouTube is flooded with stuff, but Gerald still does his deep dive while everyone else does the typical YouTube lifestyle thing. I do agree there is a level of wanting to maintain good relationships with these companies that undoubtedly influences everyone to a certain extent. That does make me uncomfortable, even when it comes to Gerald, but I also don't want to paint everyone with a broad brush. In an ideal world these channels that have sponsors and generate considerable ad revenue would rent these cameras like many folks used to for their reviews.

Yep. It would seem that they agree to send you something even though you tell them you'll only do a video on it if you like it. Then they badger you about it. If you don't cave they'll eventually contact you again, offering more stuff, but then say they'll only send it if you review the previous items they sent. A not so subtle way of telling you that if you want free stuff you have to play ball. It seemed inevitable that this would happen, but it's still incredibly shady. It certainly puts a lot of pressure on smaller channels especially. I shudder to think the % of channels that have caved in. What's really baffling about it is SmallRig has already built a reputation for having an excellent cost/quality ratio. I don't understand why they felt the need to do this, they're already one of the largest companies when it comes to rigs/cages.

An interesting video. I don't completely agree with everything he says (I think brands sending free gear to folks has overall been a net negative, especially when it comes to the YouTube filmmaking community) but it is interesting to get a look behind the curtain at how these businesses operate. It's unfortunate too, because I've been very happy with my SmallRig stuff and to see them behave like this sours me on the brand.

Yeah, I think I'd tend to agree. The X-T4's IBIS from what I've seen isn't very good at all. I can't say that you might as well not have IBIS but it's probably the worse IBIS on the market since Sony improved theirs. The battery life is a nice bonus, but you can take care of that with a Power Junkie or other battery plate. The recording limit ultimately is what makes Fuji a no go for me personally, but until the IBIS gets better I'd probably need to add weight to the rig to improve stabilization even with the X-T4 to get somewhat closer to what I get with the GH5. I still though will use a shoulder rig sometimes with the GH5! Really though I'd run the X-T3 into the ground before upgrading. I'm not a huge fan of constantly upgrading cameras to the latest model. To me, you should squeeze as much out of a camera investment as possible. The allure of new gear is real, but I'm using a 4 year old GH5 and my primary reason for thinking about changing is concern over the M43 system, not that my camera isn't capable of doing everything I need.

I mean it doesn't mean they should stop trying to break into the market, but how many films are even filmed with Canon cinema cameras? I really don't see them used outside of corporate and doc work around here. I see mostly RED, Sony, and Blackmagic cameras used for most higher end and a lot of lower end, commercial/narrative work.

Yeah, I don't know that Panasonic is going to be doing any major firmware updates for the GH5 or the GH5s at this point in their life span.

What did trans folk have to do with any of this? You decided to rant about them for no reason. Pointing that out isn't an attempt to make you feel bad, you don't have that kind of awareness or empathy, it was a genuine reaction to an unhinged rant about trans people in a post about a camera. I'm not going to derail this thread and will simply move on and ignore you.

Ah, looks like my YouTube thread was lost or deleted. I was gonna remove some of the recommendations. 😞

That's why I also appreciate Caleb Pike. I know Andrew isn't a fan but he buys most of the gear he reviews, including old cameras. He also seemed to take people's criticism of the EOS R launch trip he took to heart and hasn't done any of those all expenses paid trips since. There are some decent YouTubers out there, which is why I tried to make a thread on here about them (some sadly should probably be removed now as they've become shills that only talk about things sent to them for free.) I wish Andrew and others would do more on there, as whether we like it or not it's kind of THE platform since the community that was once on Vimeo has dried up.

Maybe save that criticism for the Matti Haapoja's and Peter McKinnon's of YouTube and not the guy that does rather dry long form reviews and regularly criticizes the things you think he's trying to sell? I say this as a very vocal critic of the YouTube filmmaking bubble. I don't always agree with Gerald but it's ridiculous to act as though he's looking to maximize clicks and affiliate sales. His videos would be under 10 minutes and feature him pouring coffee (gotta get that pouring sound!), riding a one wheel around, and otherwise pretending to have a far more exciting life than he does, all while talking about how awesome x is and that you should definitely check those affiliate links down below! At least be fair if you're gonna criticize the guy.

Also I think this is a really unfair characterization of Gerald. Long form camera reviews, especially ones where he is critical of the camera he's reviewing, is not the best way to get views and affiliate sales. If his intentions were to maximize his views and affiliate link sales he is doing a terrible job.